Thanking our Frontline Workers

A military term coined during the 17th century, front line referred to the closest proximity to enemy engagement. While it seems strange at first glance to use military lingo during seasons of crisis among civilians, the term frontline captures two essential elements of war: an enemy and a hero.

For over a year, a new kind of battle has raged worldwide. The enemy: Covid. The heroes: frontline workers.

While the Intensive Care Unit nurses at Cape Canaveral Hospital have not made national headlines, they have cared for many of the most critical Covid patients in Brevard County, day in and day out, since March of 2020. On March 9, 2021, Steve Zawadzki, a beloved member of St. David’s by the Sea, became one of their patients. For over a month, they cared for Steve with expertise, but more importantly, with compassion. Their care extended to Steve’s family and friends as well. Over the weeks, the nurses held hands, delivered difficult news, and wiped away tears of their own.

As Steve’s church community, we prayed from a distance. Fr. Porter told Steve each time he visited the ICU that his church family was praying for him. The nurses were praying for a miracle too. “I was able to get to know several of the nurses who cared for Steve in the ICU,” said Fr. Porter. “Several of them shared with me that Covid has presented more challenges than they’ve experienced in previous decades of nursing combined. They feel the emotional pain of the patients and their families in a very real way.”

The care the ICU nurses gave Steve can only be described as incarnational. “They were the hands and feet of Jesus to all of us as we held vigil for Steve,” Fr. Porter explained. “And that’s the way Steve lived his life, too. I’ve heard countless stories from his friends and family about the ways Steve showed the love of Jesus to his community. Watching him receive that kind of love was beautiful to witness.”

On April 18, 2021, Steve lost his battle with Covid. The St. David’s community has grieved with Vicky, Stephan, Alex, Juli, and the rest of their extended family, but in our grief, we give thanks for his life and his example as a selfless disciple of Jesus.

Knowing the St. David’s family would want to thank the nurses who cared so lovingly for the Zawadzkis, Fr. Porter thought providing a meal for the ICU staff would be helpful since they very rarely take a break. Because of several donations from St. David’s members, we were able to provide meals for both shifts from a local Cocoa Beach restaurant, Brano's Italian Grill. Fr. Porter reached out to their owner, Brano Kunik, and asked them to partner with St. David’s in thanking these frontline workers by matching our order.

Kunik jumped at the opportunity. “When Fr. Porter called and asked us to partner with St. David’s for these meals, it was an easy yes. Everyone has been affected by the pandemic on some level and this is how we start to heal - we help each other.”

On Tuesday, April 27, Fr. Porter delivered meals for the day shift nurses with a thank-you card signed by several St. David’s members. Later that night, he and Vicky Zawadzki delivered more meals to the night shift nurses. Today, Brano’s is doing the same.

“We’re a proud family owned business, and that family extends to our local community,” explained Kunik. “We’re just happy we could help some of our frontline workers in such a practical way.”

The battle is not over and the nurses in the Cape Canaveral ICU continue to receive new Covid patients into the Unit. We know that for years to come, frontline workers around the world will be processing the collective grief Covid has caused. But at St. David's, we know that the incarnational love of Jesus breaks through as a sign of hope in the darkest of times, even, and perhaps especially, on the frontline.